


kiss on your lips when you're in my arms

by MoonlightBreeze



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [18]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: S04e07 The Grave Danger Job, FebuWhump2021, First Kiss, Getting Together, Hardison is still reeling from the Grave Danger Job, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, OT3, POV Eliot Spencer, Protective Eliot Spencer, Queerplatonic Relationships, Short & Sweet, Trauma, god this is not even angst, no beta we die like men, which reminds me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze
Summary: Some wounds take time to heal, but luckily for Hardison, out of old wounds sometimes comes new beginnings.Or, I tried to write an angsty post-The Grave Danger Job fic, and it somehow turned into the OT3 getting together.Febuwhump Day 18 - "I can't see"Warnings for trauma associated with being buried alive (newfound fear of the dark) and very slight mentions of self-hatred/Eliot being angsty. Please keep yourselves safe! <3
Relationships: Alec Hardison & Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison/Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138970
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	kiss on your lips when you're in my arms

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! The associated Febuwhump prompt for this fic is: "I can't see" which I _was_ going to write a temporary blindness fic for, but Hardison and Eliot had other plans. I also didn't intend for this to be a 'getting together' fic, but here we are. This is ridiculously sweet and not at all angst, which is rude considering this is supposed to be Febuwhump, but oh well. 
> 
> Warnings for trauma associated with being buried alive (newfound fear of the dark), and very slight mentions of self-hatred/Eliot being angsty about himself again. Please keep your lovely selves safe! <3
> 
> With that being said, let's get on to the story! Kudos make my day and comments validate my existence, so please feel free to leave those, if you want :) And, as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
> 
> ~ Em

Eliot had found out the hard way that one surefire method to figuring out if Hardison was okay was to see if he was being loud or if he was being quiet. A loud Hardison who was talking so much that it made Eliot’s head spin was an okay Hardison; a quiet Hardison was a Hardison that needed help. 

So it wasn’t really a surprise when Eliot was the first to notice that Hardison had gone quiet over their comms. It was barely four minutes into their con; he couldn’t believe something was going wrong this early, but then again, it _was_ Hardison. His heart skipped a beat, and he growled, “Hardison!” into his comm once, twice, three times. No response. 

“Dammit, Hardison!” Eliot left his post, handing off the duty of bodyguard to Parker for a minute while Nate and Sophie talked to the mark. She wasn’t a black belt by any means, but Eliot had taught her well. He knew she could hold her own in a fight, and right now, that’s all they needed. _He_ needed to get to Hardison. 

It took Eliot a total of ten seconds to get from the office building to Hardison’s van, and by the time he reached it, his heart was damn near beating out of his chest, and he was imagining a million different scenarios, each one worse than the last. 

“Hardison?” he shouted, wrenching the van door open and clambering inside. “Hardison!”

Hardison didn’t answer, but Eliot caught sight of him immediately. 

Hardison had backed himself into a corner of the van, holding his knees. He was shaking. Eliot’s heart broke as he watched him; he looked scared, _terrified_ , even. Eliot dropped to his knees and crouched next to Hardison. He didn’t know what was going on, but he wasn’t about to leave Hardison alone when he looked like this.

“Hey, Hardison,” he muttered, reaching out to touch Hardison’s shoulder. “You okay? What’s wrong?”

Hardison shook his head, hiding his face from Eliot. Eliot sighed a little, chewing his bottom lip in consideration. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but it was clear Hardison was scared. 

“Listen, you know I’ll protect you,” Eliot said, and the _truth_ of it was almost enough to make him smile through his concern. “You don't have anything to worry about, buddy. I’m here. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

That got Hardison’s attention, Eliot could tell, and he scooted a little closer to where Eliot was crouching. “That’s it,” Eliot encouraged him. “You’re okay.” He didn’t know what this new tone he was using was, but it felt almost _loving_. Soft. Sweet. It was definitely different from how he usually talked to Hardison, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

“Eliot,” Hardison choked out, and he lifted his head from his knees. Eliot saw that his eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d been crying. “I can’t see.”

“Yeah, buddy, I’m here,” Eliot replied, moving closer, until their knees were almost touching. “What’s going on?” He didn’t add the obvious _of course you can’t see, you idiot, it’s dark!_ that was on the tip of his tongue. Something must be going on for Hardison to react this way, and he intended to find out what. 

Hardison shook his head again, and Eliot could almost feel the embarrassment rolling off of him. “Hey, c’mon,” Eliot implored, taking one of his hands and tangling their fingers together. “I’m not gonna judge you, man. We’re friends. Friends don’t do that to each other.” He sighed. “Listen, I know I-I tease and gripe at you a lot, but I’d never make fun of you for something you’re this upset about.”

Hardison took a deep breath, his hand trembling in Eliot’s. It took him a few seconds to actually get the words out, but Eliot waited patiently. “It’s dark.” Eliot gave him a confused look, and Hardison hastened to explain. “It’s dark in here, I-I - ” He broke off, chest heaving. “Reminds me of that coffin, Eliot, when I couldn’t _breathe_ , and everything was so small and - and - ” Eliot wasted no time reaching forward and pulling Hardison into his arms, trying to keep his touch light so Hardison wouldn’t feel confined like he did in the coffin. Hardison exhaled shakily, melting into Eliot’s embrace. 

“I’m sorry,” Eliot said after a minute, his voice thick and heavy with guilt. 

“What for?”

“Letting you get into that situation,” he responded quietly. “I never should’ve let you meet with her by yourself. I’m sorry, man. I should’ve been there, backing you up. I should’ve protected you.”

“Eliot, you _saved_ me,” Hardison said, pulling back just enough so that he could look Eliot in the eyes. “You pulled me out of that coffin, you _hugged_ me. You rescued me. I don’t blame you for what happened. You, you and Parker, you were the reason I got out of there.”

Eliot shook his head. “I didn’t do anything. Parker was the one who kept you from hyperventilating down there.”

“Yeah, sure, but she couldn’t have done that without your help,” Hardison said. “Don’t think I don’t know that you taught her those damn breathing exercises.”

Eliot chuckled, trying to fight back the urge to smile into Hardison’s neck. “Yeah, well, they were supposed to be for when she needs to hide, so the marks don’t hear her breathing.” 

“Either way,” Hardison said. “You helped her help me. You’re a part of this, too, Eliot.”

Eliot’s heart clenched at that, and he shook his head, his arms tightening around Hardison. “You’ve gotta stop saying stuff like that.” He couldn’t keep the sadness from his voice. He just had to hope that Hardison hadn’t heard it.

“Why?” Hardison asked.

Eliot growled angrily, hurt blooming in his chest, and he pulled away from him, averting his eyes from his friend and _those words_ , the ones that always gave him too much hope when he knew he shouldn’t have any at all. “Why the hell do you think, Hardison?! You can’t just say stuff like that!”

“Why not?” Hardison asked again, reaching for Eliot in the dark van. The fear from before had returned, and Eliot immediately felt a pang of remorse for moving away. He sighed, sitting next to Hardison again, and ran an anxious hand through his hair. 

“Because,” he said tightly, “Y-You just can’t.” 

“It’s true,” Hardison said. 

“I - what?”

“It’s _true_ ,” Hardison repeated. “Eliot, you and I both know none of us are ever gonna be normal. Hell, I ain’t even sure Parker wants more than what we have right now. We’re friends, but just a little bit more, and we _like_ it that way.” He gestured between them, to Eliot first and then himself. “Who else fits that description, huh? Friends, but just a little bit more?”

Eliot flushed in the darkness of the van, fiddling with the necklace he always wore around his neck. It was a simple silver chain, his promise ring to Aimee the pendant. He’d always kept it with him, ever since she had given it back to him just before he ran off for another tour in Kazakhstan. Sometimes it hurt; sometimes the reminder of what he could have had hurt so much it almost burned his skin, and he was tempted to rip it off and throw the necklace away once and for all, but he could never bring himself to. 

Maybe because, deep down, he knew he was waiting for the right person - _or people_ , his mind whispered - to give it to. 

“Hardison,” Eliot started, and he had to stop, clear his throat. There were tears in his voice. There were tears in his eyes. Hardison and Parker couldn’t really _want_ this, want him. He was too much, or not enough, but never _just_ enough. No one wanted someone with the amount of baggage he had. Even if Hardison said he did, that _they_ did - 

“Look, Eliot, I love you,” Hardison said, snapping Eliot out of his thoughts, and he said it just like it was a fact; _the earth is round, the sky is blue, Eliot, I love you._

Eliot’s breath caught in his throat, and before he could stop himself, he was leaning forward and capturing Hardison’s lips with his own. 

Hardison made a surprised sound in the back of his throat, but he didn’t try to pull away or do anything to indicate he didn’t want to be kissed, so Eliot wound his arms around the other man’s neck and pulled them closer, kissing him as hard as he could. The way he saw it, they were making up for years of lost time. 

“Hey, Hardison?”

“Mmhm?”

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Stalk me on Tumblr](https://moonlight-breeze-44.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Prompts are open!
> 
> Want to scream about Leverage with other fans? [Join the multifandom Discord server](https://discord.gg/82pvdE39fD) I run with my friends! We welcome everyone, and we would love to have you. <3


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